Can-body-ending machine



T. F. FITZSIMONS.

CAN BODY ENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULYZ. 1919.

Patented July 11, 1922. v 4 SHEElS-SHEET I.

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CAN gooY ENDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULYZ, I919.

Patented Jul 11, 1922.

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T. F. FITZSIMONS.

CAN BODY ENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 1919.

Patented July 11, 1922.

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CAN BODY ENDING MACHINE. I APPLICATION FILED JIJLYZ, I919. 1,422,192. Patented July 11, 1922.

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THEODORE F.. FIT ZSIIVIONS, OF STANMORE, NEAR SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

VIALES,

CAN-BODY-ENDING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented July 11, 1922.

Application filed July 2, 1919. Serial No. 308,189.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that Trmononn FrrzRoY-FITzsiMoNs, of Cambridge Street, Stanmore, near Sydney, New South ales, Australia, subject of the King of GreatBritain and Ireland, has invented certain nes and useful Improvements in Can Body Ending Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to automatic machines for setting ends (bottoms and heads) on can bodies and securing them thereto by crimping and pinching the seams, which are subsequently sweated or soldered when it is necessary to ensure a hermetic closure of the contents of the can. The invention is primarily applicable for ending cans of rectangular section and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings arranged for that purpose, but it is readily susceptible of mechanical modification to fit it for ending can bodies of circular elliptical or polygonal sec- 'tion.

The invention includes also mechanism for feeding ends from a stack filled into a hopper so that said ends will be delivered out of the hopper one by one into an ending machine in timing with the movements of the ending devices.

The two ends are fitted to the bodies simultaneously. The bodies, which have been formed and side seamed in a preceding operation. are carried through the ending machine sidewise and horizontally by a chain belt which receives intermittent forward motion timed with the movements of the end feeders and the end closing devices. The feeders are arranged to deliver the ends edgewise into guideways which bring them into alignment with an open body which is located by a cradle in register with a pair of anvil blocks and a group of vise jaws, said anvil blocks and vise jaws being mounted on slides at either side of the machine in which they move bodily inwards carrying the ends onto the bodies. and in which they move bodily outwards after the ends have been pinched into the bodies by a closing movement of the vise aws. Immediately before reaching the aligning cradle the edges of the bodies are engaged by two press pads which are caused to embrace them and apply a film of a soldering flux where the body part will be pinched in the seam groove in the ends.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 ma bodies; Fig. at

-j aw adjuster screw;

vertical longitudinal sectional elevation of the machine; Fig. l is a fragment showing the feed keys in the feeder chutes by which the accurate timing ofthe feed of the ends is ensured; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the machine omitting duplicated elements on one side of it; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary clevational view of the cam and lateral lever by means of which the anvils and rises are traversed to carry the ends onto the is an elevational view of one the closing heads comprising a four 1' aw vise and an anvil for rectangular bod 1 cans; Flg. 5 is a fragment transverse section through one of the closing heads showing its structural relation to its end feederand to the body cradle; Fig. 6 is a broken elevational view of the four jaw toggle crank by which ClOSlllQ movement is applied to the four jaws of the vise simultaneously; Fig. 7 1s a fragment section showing the relation of a toggle, the toggle crank, a vise jaw, and the Fig. 8 is an enlarged i'ragment view showing the stripping plunge r in advanced position (in 5 this element is shown in the free or retired position); Fig. 9 is a transverse section on the plane 9-9 Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragment view explanatory of the feeder operating linkage; Fig. 11 1s a broken .elevational view suggestive of an alternative device, to take the place of the toggle crank (Fig. 6), for the purpose of closing the vise jaws; Fig. 12 is a transverse vertical section on the line 12-12 Fig. 13 with the parts in idle post tion; Fig. 13 is a horizontal section on line l313 Fig. 12; Fig. 1% is a broken sectional elevation showing certain ofthe feed mechanism as it appears at the moment of delivering a can end from the hopper; and Fig. 15 is a broken fragment view of certain parts of the feed mechanism.

A box base 20 carries the ending machine elements, and a table frame 21 built thereon carries the two end feeder elements. The bodies 22,. open at either end are fed manually or mechanically sideways into the gravity race 23 down which they slide in contact by gravity to the straight race 2t.

The sides and tops of the races 23 and 2d ling equally spaced push claws 33 runsin a groove inthebed of the straight race 24,- over a driving sprocket wheel 26 and over two idle superposed sprockets 27 and rearof thelastbody 22 which has passed into the straight race 24. This angular clearance space permits the chain claws 33 to pass up behind said body 22 and there after'push it alongv the race 24, the next openbody 22 in order then passing by gravity into the ready position, where it will be-similarly taken hold of by the next claw on'thefeed belt. To prevent crowding of the down-coming bodies in the gravity race'23, a trap lever 123 with spring knuckle end 124 is pivotally mounted on the bed at 125; its tail 126 is pro- .vided with a roller 127 against which a cam 12.8 onthe shaft 36"acts to cant the lever. and withdraw the spring knuckle a 124 in proper. timing. to free the can body nextbehind itas soon as the preceding body has passed into the straight race. 129 is a contracting spring acting on the lever 123 to cant it' when it is released 7 by the cam 128. In the first forward movethe pads are immediately retired.

. mentrinthe-straight race, the open body is brought into register with the opposed pads 60 which are then advanced towards each other so as to press onto the body edges and apply to them afilm of flux, which done, In the next forward movement the body with its edges'fiux coated as just described is brought to register with the opposed closing heads, the .centreing device raised, and the ends forced onand crimped to embrace the body edges. Thereafter the ended bodies move step by step along the straight race and are finally delivered out of the end of it into a slide or are permitted to fall into a receptacle.

35 is the driving pulley and 36 thedriving shaft; A crank disc 37 on the end of the shaft 36 carriesa crank pin 38 which operates a rocker arm 39 by means of a pitm-an r0d40. This arm 39 is carried freely onthe axle 41 of'the chain sprocket wheel 26, and'it is provided with a catchpawl 42 adapted to engage a detent wheel 43 which is keyed to the axle 41. The parts are proportioned'so that the stroke of the pitman rod applies the required angular movement to the wheel 26 to advance the feed belt one step inthe progressive movement. of the: cans from place to place in the ending operation. 130 isan adjustable friction brake which functions to prevent over-running of the axle 41 when it isactuatedby the pawl anddetent motion. face cam 44 on the shaft 36 acts against a roller 45 on the rocking lever46 which effects the V traverse movements of the headers, an edge cam 119 acts against a roller 118 on the arm 117 which operates the four jaw toggle crank 61, andan eccentric 50, also: .on the shaft 36 acting through a link 51, applies 'oscillating movements to a beam 52 which is linked asat 53to a crosshead 54. on a jump rod 55 which is provided at its top end with aislotted head 56 in which the pins 57 on the end of the two feeder levers 58 work.

. The cam 63 on the shaft 36 acts against a roller 64 on thetail end of the rocking beam 65, which isv fulcruinedat. 66, and

carries on its outer end through a link'GT a saddle 68 having four upwardly 'proj ecting pins69arrangedto slide through apertured guides 70 on the racetable24. The upper ends of these pins 69'are *chamfered ofli. as shown to provide aneasy entry at either 'side of a can body. Their' function is to operateas a fence on either sideof the can body to hold it in correct register-position for the ending and end closing operation in alignment with the closingheads. The

cam timing isarranged so that the pins 69. are pushed upwardly (see Fig. 1) as soon as the body has been brought to register position by the belt movement. Except during the period in which the closing heads 7 come into operation, the pins 69 are retired leaving a clear bed. The chain belt 25 is lo cated midway on the bed of the'race 24so that it runs between the pairs of pins 69 and is not interfered with thereby. It is to be observed that thereis a feeder at either side of the machine. In Fig. 10, 71 is the magazine of one of these feeders. Each feeder operates to deliverends 72 (Fig. 5)

into a'vertically disposed guideway 73 in the closing. head located immediately below it. There are two closing heads, one on either side of the machine, each servedkby a separate feeder as aforesaid. The ends 72, upon dropping ed gewiseinto the guideway 73, are intercepted by the stop feed pins 74and-75. These pins slide in bearingsformed in paps 76 in the side ofthe guideway 73, and they are connected by links 77 to an oscillating lever-78 which is connected by a-ilink 79 to a bell crank 80. The tail end of this bell crank is fitted with a roller 81 located above the straight race 24' and permitted todrop a short distance into said race through a clearance in the top casing thereof. Apush link 82, the lower end of which is pivoted on the pin which carries the roller 81, is extended upward to connect with an element in the feeder by which the feeder movements are governed to ensure the delivery of one can end to each head each time the bell crank 80 is reciprocated. Reciprocating movement is applied to the bell crank 80 by the contact of the bodies passing through the race 24s with the roller 81 whereby the said roller is lifted as each can body passes under it, with the result that the feeder is operated to deliver another can end into the chute 73 and the lever 78 is reciprocated to alternate the positions of the pins 74 and 75. If there should be a miss in the feed of bodies, the bell crank 80 will not be reciprocated when the unoccupied chain claw is passing below it, and consequently the pins 7475 will remain idle and the delivery of body ends from the feeder will be interrupted. In the normal idle position of the bell crank 80, which is shown in Fig. 1, the lower pin 7 5 is in the inner position, so that it takes under the lowest end a' contained in the guideway 73, holding said end therein so that it does not drop into the header. Vhen the pin 75 is in this position the pin M is retired. As a can body passes under the roller 81, the end a is permitted to fall into the header as soon as the pin 75 has been sufficiently retired to remove the support which it offered below said end, but slightly prior ,to the release of the end a the upper pin 74 has been forced inward (as shown in Fig. 1) and takes below the following end 6, supporting it as soon as the'can body holds the roller 81 upward. As soon as the roller 81 is released by the can body the position of the pins 74 and 75 is alternated, with the result that the end 7; drops into the lowermost position previously occupied by the end a and is there supported by the lower pin 7 5 ready for delivery into the header. The headers are laterally movable on transverse guide tables 83. They. each comprise a body portion 8 1 to which reciprocating motion is applied. This body portion carries the closing and stripping mechanism. Reciprocating motion is applied, to the headers as before stated, through the rocking levers 46. The knuckle ends 85 of these levers take against the heads 86 of adjustable studs 87. These studs permit of eXact adjustment by screwing them more or less into the header body and fixing them with binding nuts, so that the traverse applied to the headers through the levers 46 is precisely that required for pressing home the ends firmly and. holding them' in home position on the body rims during the pinching and closing process which is performed by the vise jaws. As the ends 72 fall into the register position they are received in a frame 88, the recessed upper part of which forms the guideway 78. The slot 89 in front of this uidewa enables the o )era- 2: y l

tor to view the downward procession of ends 72 through the race in the frame 88. The bottom part 90 of the frame 88 is chamfered on the edges so as to eliminate risk of tripping of sharp irregular edges of the ends. An anvil block 91 seated in a pocket in the header body Set is shaped to fit exactly in the recessed portion of the end, thereby to form an anvil on which the seam edge of the end may be closed over the body rim. WVhen traverse movement is applied to the header 8&, the anvil 91 is brought up against the back of the end and forces the end on to the edge of the can body, which in Fig. 5 is marked 92. Immediately thereafter the four vise jaws 93,- which are formed on their faces complementary to the edge shape of the anvil 91, are closed in, thereby pinching the end rim on the body edge and making a tight mechanical joint. This done, the vise jaws immediately open, and the header body 8 1 is retired on the guide table 83. The central pos'ition'of the ended body in the race is, however, maintained by opera tion of the strippers. These comprise a plunger 94 which is pocketed in the anvil 91 with its spindle extending rearward. A helical spring 95 on said spindle operates normally to pull it backward and so bring the stripper into the recess in the anvil 91. The stripper is locked in the traverse position temporarily by the mechanism shown in Figs. 5 and 8. Fig. 8 shows it in the advanced position holding the ended body temporarily in central position in the race 24 so that as soon as the strippers are retired the progressive movement of the body through that race may be accomplished without risk of fouling the body ends in any part of the heading devices.

The rear part of the plunger 94; is notched as shown at 96 to engage a trip tooth 97 on the end of a trip lever 98 which is pivotally mounted at 99 on a bridging member 99 mounted on the guide table 83. The spring 110 pressed plunger 100 acts on the rear end of the trip lever 98, and an additional spring 101 may be .provided under the inner end of said trip lever, both springs operating to push the tooth upward, so that when it comes 115 into register with the notch 96, during advancement of the header body it will engagersame and prevent the retirement of the plunger 96 by means of the spring 95 and so hold the stripper head out-ward in 120 the can engaging position shown in 8. The tappet. screw 102 on the back end of the lever 98 is tripped by contact of the header body with it when it is nearing its retired position. In its contact the lever 98 is 1 5 tripped upward so that its tooth 97 is released from the notch 96, thus leaving the spring 95 free to operate and withdraw the stripper to the position shown in Fig. A helical spring 104 is contained in the tele- I30 where-the jaws meet inithe inwardfmo-ve mentito. allow them to contract sufficiently to ensure effective-closingof thesame. Each j aw is. separately adjustable by" means-of a tommy'screw 107 which passesthrough' a pin 108 on the inner member109 ofthe toggle. The outertogglelink 110 is pin mount.-

ed'atll-l inthe. cruciform frame 106. The

kneepin 112. ofeach. toggle isrfitted= with a square bush" 113- and: said: bushes work in slot .ja-ws- 11 1::in the four jaw crank.61. The'collar 115 of" said crank: is rotatably mounted on the -ring portion 116- of; the header body 841;. The taillever 1171 of the crank. 61. is provided: with an anti-friction roller 118 which is'engageable by the edge cam-119cm the shaft 36, .andisfitted withia retiring pullspring; 131 which functions to.- swing the lever. 117 down to. bring; the roller 118 againstnthe face'of the-cam 119. Gnce in each rotation of-the-shaft-36- the arm 11? is lifted by the tappetzactionofithe cam1l9, with the result that the fourtoggles are straightenedand the four vice-jaws forced inward. It .is' obvious that the several. cam positions. must be-de'termined in correct timingnto ensurertheorderly sequential movement of theparts.

As an alternative means for forcing in the vise jaws there-may be substituted for the-toggle motion a wedgingdevice: comprising. a'disc 120 having a-.. tail piecell'? corresponding; with the tail piece similarly numbered 1 in connection with the four jaw crank. In the disc 120 are four crankaslots 121 disposed angularly in relation ,tothe centre of'the. disc. Inthese slots finger pins 122, whichv are-- offset" from the vise jaws work when-a1 partial rotational movement is applied to the ring 120; theslots 121 sliding over the pins122cause the vise jaws 'toclose or open respectively according to the direction of themovement.

The -ends,; nested more or less closely together-or looselyseparated asreceivedsfrom theend pressing machines are deposited in the hopper 71, said: hopper being in all cases dismcnsioned to correspon'dwith the dimen sions-of the endsrequiredgito-be'fed. At 131 'thelowermost end the pack contained in-the hopper 71-is shown supported on the platformforks- 132+132, which arecapable of endwise motion; laterally! of the feed throat 137 in-the floating. bearing pockets 133-133 at either-side of the machine. Hel

icalsprings 134 rearward ofeach of these platform forks normally hold, them in the carrying position shown in Fig. 12.. Contrally, each fork-132 carries a roller 135'positioned to bear against a ramp face 136 at the back of the delivery throat137 of the feeder. The elevating frameslTO aremovable vertically bodily in. slide-guides 138 andare normally heldupward, as shownin Fig; 12, by helical carrier springs139. Plungers 14.0 at either side of the machineconne'eted1b-y links 14.1 to oscillatingbeams 58 receive vertical reciprocating: motion from a pitman 55, which is driven .in timing with the ending. machineto which the V feeder is fitted. The lower ends of these plunge-rs contact at1416 withtlretop part ofthe bearing pockets 133 inthe-fioating frames 170 when the plungers are descended. about. a quarter of. an-inch, and when the plungers are moved further downward. they force the floating frames 170 downward carrying with them the forks 132:; at thesame time the forks: 132 are retired, the retiring movement being caused by the running. of the rollers 135 down. the ram-pf'aces 136. Above the carrier forks-132 a rubber pad 1 1 1 is provided at. either SlCl10ftl1*j l1Opp6T; these rubber pads are" mounted onlthfe' lower ends ofhanging-links ld-tiwhich are. fitted with springs-130 arrangedto push the hanging links 145 outward, andthus-move the rubber pads-141 1 outward.-. The links and rubbers pads are forced inward-by the contact of rollers 147 on the plungers 14;0 against the ramp faces-148 on-the lower part of the links 145. 150 are pickerfingers, two at either side of the hopper: mounted on pins 151 which are carriedin'the floating frame 170.. They are under constant pressure of backing springs 159 whichoperate to force their points intoithe pack-of ends and they are provided each with a bearin-g:roller152 which co-actswith offset striker pins 157 on the plungers 1 10 and wit-hth'c inner faces of'the rocking shoes 160, when said shoes are set inward by (Banting themon their pivots 161 by means of the cross connected'crank arms 162- which are connected byan-arm 1.61 i and rod 82'to the tappet 8 1.- 154 are push 115 buttons normally held outward by helical spring 155.. These buttons are" located a little belowthe top surface ofthe forks 132 when the bearing pockets 133 are. inthe upper position. V Y

Intheoperation ofthe feeder a pack of endsbeingset in the hopper 71 andtimed reciprocating motion being applied .to the oscillating-beams 58, the plungers 140 are re:- ciprocated. Attop stroke their lower ends 125 set above the fork bearing pockets 133, the links 1 15 hang outward under pressure of the springs 130,- and the faces oftherubb'er pads do not. project within the interior sur face ofthehopper. walls; The pack of ends 130 downward motion then rests ,on the forks 132, (see Fig 12). oscillate downwardpthe forced downward. The against the ramp faces 145 and the rubber pads plungers .140 are rollers 147 acting 148 force the links 144 thereon inward, causing said pads to embrace the lowerend of the pack on opposite sides. At the sametime, the offset pins 157 are released from contact with the under sides of the offset rollers 152 onthe tails of the picker fingers 150, and permit the springs 159 to force said picker fingers forward and set them between the formed edges of the lowermost end in the. pack and the edges of the end overlying it. The still continuing, the picker fingers-push the lowermost end downward till it snaps past the push buttons 154.

Simultaneously-theforks 132 are retired and the released end being then unsupported below, drops down through the feeder throat 137 and striking an angular canting plate 1.71 is turned on its edge and delivered edge wise by gravity into: a receiving place in the body ending machine with which the feeder is associated. In the return motion, the forks 132 first advance, then the picker fingers 150 retire, and then the rubber pads 144 retire, leaving the pack to settle itself again by gravity, on the forks 132 as the oscillating beams attain top position. 156

i is a stop engageable with a shoulder 156 mains in the lower position.

for regulating the range of upward movement ofthe floating frames 170.

The lever control 82-161 is made automatic by connecting the rod 82 to the tappet 81 which is moved when a can body strikes it whilst moving to the ending position in said machine. If a miss has occurred in the feeding in of the bodies the tappet movement does not occur and the lever 161 re- In the lower position of the lever 161 the rocking shoes 160 are canted inward under the tail rollers 152 and hold the picker fingers 150 from contacting with the stack of ends in the magazine; consequently feed of ends is interrupted. IVhen the lever 161 is movedto the upper position by means of a hand control or by means of the ending machine tappetSl, the faces of the rocking shoes 160 are brought to the position shown in Fig. 14. In that position they leave the offset rollers 152 free and permit the picker fingers 150 the combination with an anvil, a laterally movable header body supporting said anvil, of a normally retired stripper plunger, a

trip pawl arranged to hold the stripper outward until the retiring movement of the header body is nearing completion and thereupon to release the stripper and so leave the completed can centred in the race-way.

2. In a can ending machine of the type described, an end sea-n1 closing device including an anvil adapted to set into a can end positioned on a canbody and brought to register with said anvil, anintermittently moving can feeding belt, a crank plate, a cam adapted for rocking said crankplate, a cruciform guide, opposed seam closing vise jaws slidable in said-cruciform guide in diagonal relation'to said anvil, toggle links connecting said cruciform guide arms on saidcruciform guide and said sliding jaws respectively, and means for symmetrically adjusting said jaws in relation to said anvil.

3. In a can ending machine of the type described, a slide raceway,an intermittently inovin g body carrier belt, a saddle supported below said belt, centering pins on said saddle, said saddle being adapted to movesaid pins vertically upward through guide holes in said racewayto lightly embrace can bodies, and a header device including jaws located adjacent the centering pins whereby the latter retain the can bodies in the location symmetrical in relation to the relation of the jaws. '1 i I 4.' A heading device for a can ending machine, comprising a body, means for moving the body to and from can engaging position, 100 an anvil seated in said body and adapted to the interior shape of the formed end, a plurality of opposed vise jaws, means for closing the same after the body has moved to can engaging position, a stripper plunger work- 105 ing through the anvil. a retiring spring on said plunger, a pivotally mounted trip pawl, means on the plunger adapted to co-act with the pawl and hold the stripper plunger ad vanced and means for tripping said pawl.

5. A can body ending machine including a race-way, conveying means for advancing can bodies sidewise in step by step movement through the race-way, a drive shaft, a traversing mechanism for delivering ends to the can bodies, means on said shaft to actuate said mechanism, a clamping mechanism, means on said shaft to'actuate the clamping mechanism, a can end feed mechanism and means on said shaft for actuating said can end feed mechanism.

6. Mechanism for feeding can ends from a stack in single file into an ending machine, comprising a vertically disposed magazine provided with a ramp face an opposed pair of links pendent in the sides of the vertically disposed magazine provided with cam faces, rubber pads in the faces of said links adapted to embrace the lower part of a stack of ends contained in said magazine, plungers reeiprocated in feed timing, means on said plungersadapted 'to-act agamst said cam faces to force the links inward when the plunger's are down, and to release them when the 'plungers are raised, vertically movable gers, spring backed picker fingers adapted to engage between the lowermost end in the packand the end next above it, push buttons projecting into the magazine below said picker fingers, and tappets on said plungers operating toeffect the retirement of said picker fingers during the upward movement 7 of the plungers.

, 7. In ran end feederof the typeclaimed in claim 7 hereof, the combination with elements therein set forthof control means for rendering the feed of ends inoperative withoutstopping the machine, said means comprising'roeking shoes adapted to engage the picker fingers and hold the same out of engagementwith the stack of ends, said shoes being link connected to controlmeans actuatedautomatically by a connection from an 7 7 and meansfor supporting the stack of can ending machine. 7

8. A can end feeding mechanism assoc ated wlth an endmg machine, and operating to deliver ends'in single file from a hopper V. into-saidmachine. 'eomprising a vertically disposed magazine adapted to carry a' stack of-ends, gripping pads closable against the stack of ends to, carry same in said magazine whilst they are otherwise unsupported therein,'pieker fingers adapted to separate the lowermost end in the stackfrom the ends above it, and force it downward mdependently of the overlying ends, push buttons in}:

the sides of the magazine and reciprocable carrier forks operatlng through'thesldes of the magazineunder said stack, means operating said picker fingers to movethe lowermost end downwardly past said push buttons and permit its delivery by gravity, means for retiring the forks during delivery of the end,

means for advancing the gripping pads to operatlve position during retirement of; the

stack, means for supporting the stack during stripping. operation of the lowermost end} means acting to retard the delivery ofthe stripped end, said retarding means being functionally interrupted by the can end dur-" ing its advancement by the stripping means, 7

ends subsequent to their release by the first mentioned supporting means. V v

In testimony whereof I affix mysignature.

. THEODORE F. FITZSIMONS'. 

